Get everyone a professional yoyo. Endlessly entertaining. Fun. Smile inducing. Stress relieving. Easy to start; more difficult to master the tricks. Could even be a sibling rivalry competition at future holiday(s). It's the most appreciated gift I've ever given to adults. Amazon, of course, stocks m...

I decided to do the conversions and forgo the subsidy’s, but it depends on your net worth, amount in your IRAs, projected tax bracket after rmds kick in, etc. I decided to forego Roth conversions and maximize subsidies, saving $18k/year/person of health insurance costs. Pre-ACA, I'd been busy Roth ...

I routinely use similar insulated bags for refrigerated and frozen foods when grocery shopping. Frozen items provide ample coolth. Ice cream does not melt and items don't defrost on my 40-mile drive home from Costco. Even on warm days, though I do stash them out of sunshine. I do not use the bags as...

No special perks here. I'm also on the cheapo TaxAct plan; for federal and state I paid $15 in 2015 and $10 for 2016. My recollection is that it was not self-evident how to accomplish it myself, so I called. She said a whole bunch of stuff, and I asked for a slow-down, and she offered detailed assis...

In 2016, I filed an Amended 2015 return with an Amended 8606, with TaxAct. I discovered the 8606 mishap while pre-working my 2016 return. I called TaxAct. And a very competent, friendly CSR walked me through the process, through the TaxAct labyrinth, step-by-step, while we were conversing via speake...

Two issues are presented here by OP. FIRST: How can MAGI be reduced by $4300 to preserve ACA subsidy? * Less Income, earned and other. * Shift some taxable fixed-income holdings that generate interest and/or dividends to IBonds. Interest can be tax-deferred until redemption and is not added to MAGI....

My recently retired mother ...90% of her driving is to the store or church. I think she liked how easy it was to get in and out of the car... She lives in an area that gets occasional winter snow, and AWD could be useful. I think a CUV type of vehicle would probably suit her best... she could start...

My employer is currently offering a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) as a choice for the company's medical insurance but ... does not offer any HSA plans to go along with it... I thought HDHP and HSA usually go hand in hand! Not all High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) are eligible for HSAs. There...

If you have a CD in your traditional IRA (like me), there may be a limit on the partial distribution amount you can take without an early withdrawal penalty. In my IRA, I opened a 5-yr CD and funded it with a generous guesstimate of 5 years of RMDs. The lion's share of that IRA is invested at Vangu...

Da5id, Where is the little wrench dropdown menu? It is not anywhere on my screen. It seems to me that there was a place at the bottom of a post, as late as yesterday, where you could subscribe or unsubscribe but it is not there today. Before you reply please look at your screens and see if everythi...

First: You subscribe to a thread. Next: You'll have to confirm how you set up your personal account re receiving notifications. In the upper right (under the Google box) at your "name" arrow down. Go to User Control Panel. Go to Board Preferences. Go to Edit notification options. Check boxes for whe...

Utility Company +3 Lowes took the old fridge out to the porch when they delivered new fridge: no charge. Called utility company, made an appointment, they picked it up, and paid me $50. Note: Fridge must be plugged and working. OP, Google says this is similarly offered in DC: https://homeenergysavin...

Can I just stick with the ACA plan until January 1st of 2019 even though she turns 65 in late September of 2018? I think I know the answer (NO) but thought I would ask anyway. :happy She cannot buy ACA insurance with subsidies once she is 65 and Medicare eligible. And she may face some higher Medic...

I am currently on subsidized ACA (I retired early, and am living on savings). I will turn 65 in May 2019, and intend to transition to Medicare then. I have been careful to minimize the sale of appreciated funds, and to only sell after-tax funds, in order to keep my income low enough. From the persp...

Starting at age 55, in my state, up to $20,000/year of "pension" income can be excluded from state income tax. The definition includes the aggregate of pensions, annuities, RMDs from Inherited IRAs, IRA distributions, and Roth conversions. (Amt goes to $24k at 65.) This is a sweet bonus to do some R...

At two weeks, Eye One was blurry and cloudy. I was ready to cancel Eye Two cataract surgery. The ophthalmologist and assistants reassured me this was OK and not atypical. I can't remember how long it took, but both eyes did adjust eventually. Visit and talk to your doctor. Our anecdotal reports are ...

I've read that it's possible to withdraw your Roth contributions for the year and redeposit them back in before April. I'm not a fan of treating a Roth account like an ATM. That said, read yesterday's thread about how this can go wrong if not handled right: How Can I Return Withdrawn Roth Contribut...

My guess: Your current 2017 plan, based on your income, includes both subsidies that lower the premium price and cost-sharing benefits that reduce the deductible to zero. But, for 2018, that same insurance plan no longer grants cost-sharing benefits, even though your income is the same. So deductibl...

Last year, when I turned 65, I set Medicare B and D payments on auto-payment from my HSA. And because, as OP notes, HSA is unfriendly to beneficiaries, I also withdrew some monies for the first time, for historic reimbursements. My plan was to empty my HSA, funded 2010-2014, by age 70. Recently, whe...

Can you use any portion of the HSA to pay for premiums (subsidized or not) or co-pays or the deductibles of an ACA health insurance plan? Premiums, no. Deductibles & copays, yes. And now that I would be unemployed, could I ... You can use your HSA to pay premiums, if you are collecting state or fed...

David Scubadiver explained how you subscribe to a thread. Next you'll have to confirm how you set up your personal account re receiving notifications. In the upper right (under the Google box) at your "name" arrow down. Go to User Control Panel. Go to Board Preferences. Go to Edit notification optio...

Also depends on if and how your state taxes the Roth conversion. In my state, some "pension income" is exempt from taxation ($20,000 55-65; $24,000 65+), and Roth conversions are included in this state definition. Once you take SS at 70, it fills this state-exempt bucket. So there's an advantage to ...

... and onions are super easy to grow. Carefree almost. When I want to fill my raised beds with very little effort and great results, I grow onions. Marvelous onion starts, plus all the resources you'll need to become an "onion farmer" in your garden bed: Dixondale Onions Very reasonably priced, gr...

...she received two invoices from New; one for the imaging, one for the doctor appointment. These invoices total close to $500... New insists the follow up is not covered under the free annual mammograms, that the follow up was necessary, and that they have no record of their doctor stating the fol...

Any thoughts on how to look at this differently so I don't miss out on travel opportunities? One: Your mom will not live forever, and her health may decline. Either is certainly way more likely for her than for you. Celebrate adventures together. Do not have regrets when she ages or passes. Two: Te...

My neighbor has quite a number of trees that shed limbs and branches all the time... I've called him to ask that he clean up after his trees and he refuses, saying that it isn't his responsibility for what the trees do... The tree roots are interfering with my lawn sprinkler system as well... What ...

I thought F and G were the same except F (not high deductible F) had no deductible/out of pocket, but G had a ~ $2K per year deductible/out of pocket. Is that not the way it works? No, this is not the way it works. Medicare Part B has an annual deductible. For 2017, it's $183. F covers it; G does n...

I've been investigating the very same switch. However, I believe that I was told by my carrier (AARP UHC) that Plan G is not currently offered in my state. I wonder if the switch is more complicated if switching carriers? AARP UHC Plan G very recently became available in my state (Colorado), which ...

Sounds like a failure on the part of the local Post Office to me, and not under Amazon's control. Have you contacted your local Postmaster about this problem? At my small town, large geographical delivery area, rural post office, the problem is the sheer volume of Amazon parcels since the massive P...

The nonprofit is well-intended and it's hard to disagree with the stated goals. You support the mission, but reasonably feel queasy about financial support at this time. Nonprofits, especially start-ups, need all three of The Three Ts: time, talent, treasure. You might offer to volunteer as he deem...

My guess is that most cases are people not paying attention during the ordering process of the time to ship and are assuming the Prime item is ready to ship immediately. Nope. We know how to read. Delivery service varies very widely, depending on where we live. There is a real problem for some of u...

The IRA custodians are supposed to calculate the official RMD each year and tell the account holder what it is each January. Did your wife ever get a notice for any of the years? It could even have been part of the year-end statement. Then you would have seen that you were planning to withdraw a di...